Mega Millions Jackpot Second Largest Ever

Urban Legend says that winning the lottery can be a curse, but this doesn’t stop people from trying. When it comes to Mega Millions, predictions show that the jackpot could reach almost $1 billion by the next drawing on Friday night, making it the second largest lottery jackpot in US history. On Tuesday night, the $667 million Mega Millions game saw no winners, leading to Friday night’s jackpot. As great as this sounds, the odds aren’t necessarily in your favor.

Twitter - @ABC

According to CNBC, the odds of winning both the Mega Millions and the Powerball together are 1 in 88 quadrillion, which has 15 zeroes. The National Weather Service says the odds of being struck by lightning are 1 in 1,171,000, 258 times higher than the chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot. The International Shark Attack File reported the odds for being killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067, 80 times more likely. For Tuesday’s drawing, the chances for the Mega Millions were 302,575,350 to 1, with the Powerball jackpot’s odds being a bit better at 292,201,388 to 1.

Twitter - @krgv

In 2016, there were three winning tickets for the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot, the highest in history. They chose to take $327.8 million as a lump-sum payment over $533 million before taxes as an annuity. Last year, a Mercy Medical Center employee won the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot, of which she also took the lump sum, which was $480.5 million before taxes. In 2012 and 2013, two Mega Millions jackpots peaked at $656 million and $648 million, with the highest being won by three people and the second highest being won by two. As for this week’s lottery, we’ll know the results soon.